NY extends Obamacare enrollment beyond Trump's new deadline

ALBANY -- New York is extending the state's 2018 Obamacare enrollment period beyond the Trump administration's new deadline.

The state announced today open enrollment will run from Nov. 1 through Jan. 31, 2018.

The Trump administration recently shortened the amount of time people shopping on the federal exchange will have to sign up to get coverage for 2018. Open enrollment on the federal exchange will run from Nov. 1 to Dec. 15.

Because New York operates its own exchange it has the flexibility to set its own open enrollment dates. New York is sticking with the same three-month open enrollment period consumers had last year.

Other states that run their own exchanges such as Colorado, Minnesota, Washington, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia have also decided not to follow Trump's earlier deadline.

The state Health Department said a longer enrollment period has been shown to increase enrollment of younger individuals and enables the exchange to provide better customer service.

Since 2013, more than 3.6 million New Yorkers have enrolled in coverage through the state health insurance exchange.